Toddler Activities: Heart Garland & Sock Puppets

Heart Garland

Items Used:

Thick cardstock

Scissors

String

Hole Punch 

Crayons 

Stamp

& the toddler to help draw

1. Fold the paper "hot-dog style" & cut out hearts, pass the hearts along to the little one to color.

2. Now you're ready to string them together!

3. Tie a knot at each end and voila! Such a fun craft and so cute! 

Sock Puppets

Items Used:

1 pair of socks 

(to make two sock puppets)

Hot glue gun

Fuzzy pom-pons

Pipe cleaner

Foam sheet

1. Make the hair for the puppet with pipe cleaner.

I used 6 long pieces and then cut them in half and wrapped them around themselves.

2. Then pick out some eyeballs & use the hot glue gun to apply them to the front of the sock. 

(let the little one get creative before you glue them, it's cute!)

Let dry.

3. (look back to step 1) Cut a small hole on top for the hair to go in. 

4. Put the pipe cleaners in the hole, flip the sock inside out and hot glue them to stay.

Let dry.

Add a small dot for the nose,

and a felt red tongue!

Then put them on your hands and play!

We had a blast!

Hello, Monday

Today was a busy day! Due to my lack of concentration, burning desire to spend money, get out of the house and my over-obsessive addiction to Pinterest we ended up taking a field trip to Sherwin-Williams and Hob Lob. Paint and crafts can only mean one thing... This mama's re-do'ing a wall in the house again. So as you can imagine L had a busy day too. Breakfast, play time, story time, ball pit time, then some quick lunch and off to the field trips inspired by friends and Pinterest! As soon as we got home it was nap time for her and time for me to paint (when I really should have napped too).
We had dinner and while I was cleaning up L just wanted to play-play-play! I had a sink full of hot water, hands full of gunk and I just wanted to clean so I could well... have a clean freakin' kitchen.

All of a sudden L wrapped her arms around my leg and said, "I lub you so beary much mama more than the wide world and beary many pieces" and she squeezed so tight. I melted for the millionth time since I have been her mother. I turned off the water, wiped my gunky hands on my pants and scooped her up. She kissed my cheek with a slobbery but warm, soft kiss and squeezed her hands around my neck. She sighed and said, "mama I lub you". I slid down to the floor to cradle her in my arms and have a soft, quiet chat like we always do together. I confessed my guilt for spending time painting and not playing and doing dishes instead of jumping in the ball pit with her. After all, she just wants attention... 24/7.

Sometimes being a mom is rough, as any mother knows. It's difficult to juggle the you time, the play time, the cleaning time, and the everything else time. I always put her needs before mine, always thinking about what's next on the agenda for the day, what's for dinner, what veggies to feed her, how much fiber is in the meals she's eating so she poops right, then I think... did I poop today?, when her undies were changed last?, did she brush her teeth this morning? oh, damnit... did I shower? Is the dog fed, is the floor clean, is the milk in her sippy cup from last night or this morning... sometimes it's too much and can get a little overwhelming. But, then there's little reminders like tonight that I needed to bring me back to mommy-land on earth. The little hands on my leg and the sweet jumbled up words of L expressing her b instead of v "lub you's" to me were enough to make me put the house stuff aside and put the paint away. Most of all, it really made me realize I am doing something right as a mommy.

So now we are lying on the living room floor in a mess of ball-pit balls (because we had to bring the ball pit in the living room of course), she's drawing pictures on my sketch paper I was using for my DIY project in my entry way, and I am blogging... ahhh, sanity... and in a house full of all the lights on, no TV in the background and the pup sleeping... this is all we need. (except wine... we always need wine)!

It's Friday + It's Nap Time!

Well, it's Friday... and man oh man, it doesn't feel like it at all! Don't get me wrong, I am so thankful that it's Friday and hubs is out of work early today but I can't believe that week flew by! The thing I love about Fridays is staying in comfies all day, not leaving the house and not having much to do around the house. That means no laundry, hopefully not too many dishes, no cleaning and more playtime! But, leave it to me to take some time to blog this morning and take attention away from this little one so she had the perfect opportunity to get into her window clings on the front window and put them all over herself! Luckily she didn't make it to the puppy before I caught her mischievous little fingers.

We are planning more crafts for today that are Valentine's Day themed - I am so excited! I LOVE Valentine's Day and all things sweet-themed. Can't wait to get our nails pink, hands gluey and fridge filled with cute crafts. My mornings are now spent on Pinterest while enjoying my hot cup of coffee. I enjoy browsing a million mama's blogs about craft ideas and learning games for toddlers! Pre-Preschool at home, why not?

Check out our Valentines Day crafts here - Toddler Activities: Valentine's Day and surely there will be more to come in the weeks leading up to the pink, red & heart filled holiday!

So, I have been focusing on my hair, skin & nails a lot lately since I have time to do it. I have been taking Nature's Bounty Hair Skin & Nails vitamins for over a month now and since starting my vitamins my hair has grown over 2", it feels stronger and healthier... and partially probably because I don't flat iron it or blow dry it every single day like I use to. It's a special weekend treat if I do that anymore. YAY! I am so anxious for my hair to grow out and see it's natural color - it's been so long since I have seen that. I want long, healthy hair - is that too much to ask for?

I have been using Sally Hansen's nailgrowth Miracle growth treatment and also Sally Hansen's Hard as Nails Hardener nail treatment. I alternate throughout the week and my nails have definitely been stronger, longer and healthier. I am so impressed with this stuff! I have heard GREAT reviews from other women who use it and they say they live by it. I am obsessed and this is definitely a staple in my beauty cabinet now and forever.

Lennon loves all things girly and pink - she's totally my girl! She loves soaking her feet in the warm bath tub with me, scrubbing them, filing her toe nails, then painting them! We painted our toes NEON pink, perfect for Valentine's Day. Let's just hope she doesn't color her hair or cut it nearly as often as me, or ever.

Our Friday is just another great start to another great weekend ahead! Birch Run's Gun & Knife show is happening, we are excited to go to our first one and L is going to have a great time hanging out with Nani. L is finally feeling better so we can attend Church and have a good, quality family weekend!

XO, K.

Toddler Activities: Valentine's Day

                                              

Owl Always Love You

You'll need:

Construction Paper
Glue Stick
Scissors
Crayons

A Toddler (hehe)

                                             

& because I am exploring the Montessori way of educating children and this whole "do it yourself" learning with Lennon, I am letting her do everything herself. Well, almost everything. I haven't gotten the courage to let her cut things yet. Soon enough I will get there...

                                     

& it's done! L says, "tada, I made a owl!" She was so proud of herself! 

It's great seeing her so proud and happy.

I Love You to Pieces

It was fun letting L rip apart the paper into small pieces and then make polka dots with glue on the backs of them to stick them inside the heart. She payed close attention to her work and was so patient with it! We had the occasional melt down when she got glue on her fingers but we're working on patience with messy hands! 

& another Valentine's Day project is done! 

Lennon wrote her name on each paper with my help of course. She used her right hand for one, and her left hand for the other. Who knows which way this little one will go! We'll see! 

...more pink & red crafts to come in the weeks leading up to Valentine's Day! 

Toddler Activities: Learning the Alphabet & Numbers

Alphabet Train Matching Game 

I went to the Dollar Store and spent less than $15 on awesome craft supplies. The foam rectangles were perfect for the body of the train and the letters are foam stickers! I cut out smaller squares for the letters that L will match on the train.

Here's the finished project! I used painters tape (by recommendation from other mom blogs) on the backs of the train pieces. Of course this is the only place the whole train would fit... right down the hallway! Oh, well! The fun part will be watching L take all those pieces (with more tape on the back) and match them to the letters.

The Counting Caterpillar

I wanted to encorporate learning with fun so we made a caterpillar with numbers and fuzzy 

balls for sensory play! L loves to count things but needs to learn her order of numbers. 

I also found these awesome foam circles and fuzz balls at the Dollar Tree.

Here's the finished project! This one thankfully fit on the wall in the playroom.

"Mr. Alligator" as L calls him is a furry little guy who is filled with polka dots and numbers.

She will learn her numbers in no time with this fun sensory play craft - hopefully she will learn the difference between an alligator and caterpillar too! (haha!)

Octopus Fine Motor Skill Craft 

After the crafts were done and drying we decided to do another fun craft we found on another mama's blog that I absolutely love! This blog has so many great preschool crafts for fine motor skills and counting! Check it out and have fun getting creative!

http://www.mamaslikeme.com/

I got the construction paper and glue at the Dollar Tree, too! 

Cheerios, of course, we had at home in the cupboard and decided we could spare a handful for this fun octopus craft!

L enjoyed drawing polka dots on the legs of the octopus and then she had so much fun using the glue bottle to put the dots on for the cheerios to stick to. FYI - Yes, at first I was really apprehensive about letting her use the glue by herself but after reading so many blogs about Montessori learning and motor skills play I figured it really couldn't hurt to let her try this! She did AMAZING! She only "over-glued" once and even cleaned it up by herself. It proved to me she can do things like this and be great at it! I was so proud of her. 

I can't wait to make more crafts and share them with you.

XOXO, K. 

Garlic & Beer Marinated Chicken

5 ingredients.... That's it! 

The ingredients are THAT simple & everyone has them in their home, I hope! 

Ingredients:

• 1 Large Chicken Breast (cut into 4 pieces)
• 12 oz beer - I use whatever we have on hand but a Corona or Bud Light Lime is usually the best for flavor. I used Miller Lite and then just add Lime juice to make up for the citrus flavor.
• 2 T EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
• 2-4 T Garlic Powder or Minced Garlic (Depends on how much strong garlic flavor you like in your chicken)
• Couple shakes of Black Pepper & Salt (Depends on how you like the taste of salt & pepper)

You'll need:

• Mixing bowl
• Meat tenderizer 
• George Foreman or a grill 

Serving Size:

2-4 people depends on how much chicken you want to have each. I cut this into four pieces so we always have leftovers for more salad. I grill each piece separate and add it to the salad while it's still warm. It's PERFECT!

Take the large chicken breast and cut into two pieces. Rinse and set aside onto a cutting board. Grab a large mixing bowl and whisk together all of the ingredients. Pound your chicken to an even thickness before marinating - it will help the chicken marinade in the flavors, then it will cook evenly and stay juicy! Then take the two large breasts and cut in half so you now have four pieces. Place the chicken in the marinade and let it sit in the fridge for a few hours before cooking. I place mine in the fridge around lunch time (12:00) and it will be ready to grill around 4:30 for dinner.

I use my George Foreman to cook the chicken (but only because it's too cold to grill outdoors)! It usually takes about 10-15 minutes to cook through. You'll have to keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn or get too dried out from being overdone. 

My favorite recipe for this chicken is to add it on top of a bed of lettuce and veggies for an awesome tasting salad! It's so yummy and everyone loves it! 

Enjoy!

XO, K.

Our Weekend!

It's finally the weekend which means a few things...

I'm wearing a REAL bra, I actually did my makeup (with actual eyeliner and mascara instead of the usual powder & blush) & I have jeans on and I forgot how uncomfortable these things are. Oh, and I showered before nap time. That's kind of a big deal because it never happens during the week. Woot!

I'm excited to wear normal clothes, well at least jeans and a cozy shirt. I can't let go of cozies all together just for a Saturday. I'm selfish. But, at least I'm selfish & cozy! 

I'm so obsessed with this shirt I bought a while ago but usually never wear it out of the house. I usually wear it as jam's since its soooooo soft & cozy but I figured I would pair it with some boots, jewelry & jeans for a cozy, cute weekend outfit! Everything I love & care about in one shirt. PEACE. LOVE. MUSIC & LENNON. Nothin' better. Except actually NOT leaving the house. Yep. I was fully prepared to leave, go out to Ikea and go shopping but then we decided to stay in.

I use weekends for being a Pinterest stalker & obsess over little shops just wishing I could have them & telling my hubs I want to buy all of the shirts for me & L on there. I came across this adorable shop on IG and I am obsessed already with their shirts. The reviews rock & their clothing is adorable for families. I can't wait to save up some money and get these for all of us! How cute! Look her up on IG and follow.

So instead of going out in the cold to make the trip with a sick toddler all the way to Ikea like we had planned, we stayed home. And, as much as I was dying to go to Ikea to buy new bedroom furniture, I am actually content with this. There's nothing better than cuddling on the couch with my little babe and fur child & hubs, ordering takeout, having some beer and watching movies and the occasional playroom destroy session a.k.a play time, what messy fun. Who's complaining though? Perfect Saturday night! Dan and I were in our bed by 10:30 watching our new favorite show on Netflix and he turns to me and says, "When did we become old?" I said, "We didn't, we became parents and this is what we do now." We realized that this is what we crave. Saturday nights cuddling with our child, watching movies and having snacks. We don't miss the bar life one bit. 

Sunday morning we decided to sleep in (until 8:00 AM but hey, that's a big deal for us). Unfortunately we didn't make it to church because all of us are sick with this nasty cough or cold or whatever it is... we didn't want to risk it. Thankfully, we can read about the service and watch it on the app. Technology rocks! We enjoyed some lazy time, lots of Netflix and lots of take out, junk food, slurpee's and cough medicine. Thank goodness this is happening now and not on Jan. 30th for my special ladies night in! Woot-Woot!

Well, unfortunatly it's Monday morning... Good morning blog world!

I am cuddling on the couch with warm French Vanilla coffee, my huge favorite fleece blanket, my hair that's too short to put into a top knot but it's still in a top knot and looks terrible, and my Warby's on my face that look so funny with my no makeup and messy hair. I am so not leaving my house today. Lennon is sitting next to me, Luke is on my lap sleeping and we're watching my favorite morning show. Lennon says, "Mama you have a cough like me, and daddy have a cough and Lukey have a cough?" haha. Silly kid. I am so thankful for my little cuddle mornings and small talk with L. She's so intelligent and quirky, it's too cute. Hoping to have a great week with lots of cough medicine, hot tea and cuddles to kick this sickness we all have in the butt.

XO, K.

Dear L,

Today while  I was lying you down for your afternoon nap you threw a temper tantrum. You didn't want to nap, which was half the problem, but you're sick with a nasty cough and even though you didn't want to nap, you were exhausted and needed to relax. So, I held you while you cried and kicked and screamed, I brushed your hair out of your eyes while you cried and cuddled you so close to me you when you said, "mama hold me". It hurts me when you're so sick and so sad. All I wanted to do was to take the pain away but I couldn't and that made me so sad. I rocked you in my arms and wrapped you in your blankey until you closed your eyes and held my hand. 

I laid you down, rubbed your back and watched you closely. I was rubbing your back as you took a deep breath and fell asleep. I covered you up, tucked you in and I was going to get up and leave the room to let you sleep but something told me to stay... Instead of leaving you alone I laid right back down next to you and starred at you. I watched your eyes flutter and listened to the sweet humming noises as you dreamed and put my nose close to your face to feel your breathing. I smelled your sweet, soft cheeks and they smelled just like vanilla lotion. I held you close to me, kissed your forehead probably a million times and I told you everything my heart was feeling in that moment. 

I was feeling so at peace right in that moment. No matter how bad your temper tantrums get or how many messes you make that I have to clean up, or how many times you don't listen to me and I get upset... it all went away and felt like nothing else matters. Nothing mattered except for that moment when I was starring at you and holding you close. 

You see, in your life you have this perfect image of the world. The world around you is colorful and bright, everyone is nice and trustworthy and the world out of your front door is a big playground. In your little world, the world is just the things around you and the things around you here would never hurt you. I am scared for the days to come, the days when you grow up and learn about the bad things in this world. I guess, I am scared of you not being my little girl anymore. I remember when I was little. I remember the things I experienced, the negativity, the name calling in school, the bullies and drama. I remember being picked on, I remember mean people, I remember people hurting me. I am so scared of this world hurting you. In this moment while I am lying with you wrapped in my arms you're so innocent and so loved in a million ways. You're my little blessing and will always be protected by me and daddy while you're little but we can't always watch out for you. We won't always be by your side every second of the day. I can only hope and pray that we raise you right, so we raise you to be strong, optimistic, intelligent and trustworthy. As I told you everything my heart was feeling I promised you that I would always hold your hand, hold your heart in mine and be there for you no matter how old you are or where you are in life. I promised you that I would never judge you, never hurt you, never leave you. I promised that I would guide you, like my mother guided me and that I would let you make your own mistakes, no matter how hard it may be because in the end, you'll learn. I told you that I want to be your friend, your mom, your inspiration, role model and your teacher. 

L, I will always be here. I will always cuddle you, hold you, and love you unconditionally and you will always be my little girl.

XO, K.

Stay at Home Mom Essentials

Well since I have been a SAHM I've definitely been learning the ins and outs of making it through the day. I've made a must have list of my favorites for all other SAHM's too! 

First things first, (First things first, I'm the realest. Drop this and let the whole world feel it)

Number one: Pandora Radio. I am kind of obsessed with Iggy lately so that's my station and it's the bomb right now. Instead of turning on the TV right away I turn on Pandora. It gets my booty movin', and L dances too! We dance around the kitchen usually while making coffee and oatmeal. Who doesn't like to dance in pajamas while they make breakfast. Spoons are microphones and we are the best booty shakers around! 

So for real... first things first, COFFEE. Breakfast. Vitamins. We usually spend our mornings in the darkness of the house, no lights on, no toys... just some music, some hot hazelnut flavored coffee, oatmeal & fruit for breakfast, then we take our vitamins and after dancing out butts off we'll cuddle watching episodes of Daniel Tiger on Netflix. Netflix is definitely number two on our list of must haves. Netflix = amazing and time consuming. Even though we don't watch much TV during the day, when we do it's Netflix & Daniel Tiger is so friendly and kind. Love him & his quirky songs (yes we dance to those too)! 

Phone time is a must in the morning for me. Since I am alone with a two year old all day long it's imperative that I have adult chat time morning and night. My BIFF is morning chat time and night time is obvi my hubs. BIFF and I chat about anything & everything from our kids poop, our poop, our homes, decorating, latest fashions, lipsticks and the weather. Seriously, it's the best to sit here, drink coffee while L watches TV and chat with my best friend. It's much needed and nice to keep in touch when we are so far away.

Then there's those days where your kid or dog won't leave your side & when you set one of them down the other one whines and cries. Yep, that's my house when I have a cranky toddler (which is so rare) but nonetheless, we need help on those days. That's when you go get a script for Xanax. Kidding! That's when you don't shower... you suck it up, stay in your yoga pants and cuddle non-stop, all freakin' day. (Which is no different than any other day Monday-Friday... I live in yoga's!)

On those days I am so thankful for my collection of products. They're cheap buys for an easy fix! The days I don't have a second to shower or don't want to & need to feel like I'm not a greaseball, or... days I shower but don't feel like spending time blow-drying... there's products like these that come to the rescue. I am in love with Not Your Mother's Brand of products. They're friendly on your wallet, and hair! The dry shampoo rocks, the Beach Babe Salt Spray rocks for the days you really don't feel like blow-drying and of course hair spray & Chi Silk Infusion are staples in my every day life. I love them all and could NOT live without these products. 

My playroom. It's amazing (when it's clean!) We spend so much time in here during the day playing, drawing, reading, etc. It's fun and let's L's imagination run wild. I am so happy that we have a place to have fun and not destroy the rest of the house.

Let me just say, the iPad is essential. Of course, it's technology and I know studies show... blah, blah, blah but, it's not like we use it all day every day. I blog in the mornings with my coffee and have my morning chats with my BIFF so that's usually when L is watching TV or playing on the iPad. The rest of the day we play, do laundry, or clean the house together. The mornings are nice and quiet around here when I let her sit and play on the iPad. Especially for the mornings where I am really tired still and the music didn't wake me up... it's a blessing to have some "alone" time! :)

Silly moments are a must in order to stay happy & sane around here. We like to jump around, exercise together, color with chalk, crayons, water colors, and play play-doh all day long. It's fun to sing our ABC's every time we wash our hands and go potty and the days that I can't shower alone she comes along with me. It's more fun that way! She learns how to wash herself, wash her hair, and we play with Peppa Pig & Ariel, who wouldn't have fun with that? It's so fun to have Pandora radio on while we are in the kitchen making lunch. We seriously listen to so many songs that we love... unless it's "Big Booty", she is literally running around the house right now singing "Big Booty... Big, Big Booty". OOPS! I guess it's time for some Disney Channel Radio, haha. She will definitely sing the songs and even though I have a love of hip-hop & rap music I usually listen to some Boyce Avenue radio or Sam Smith. L will dance and sing with me, it's so cute.

& then there comes time for cuddles... my favorite thing in the entire world. Being in jam's at nap time usually doesn't happen often. We are usually out of jam's right away and ready to take on the day but then there's those days where you're both feeling SUPER DUPER lazy, especially days when she's sick so we stay in jam's ALL DAY LONG. Like this... But, even when she's in pajama's she's still got a tutu on! Such a girly girl! 

Nap time comes around and it's ME time. Thank God. I really do wish that I could nap when she naps but by the time she's out it's time for me to hurry up & do dishes from lunch, clean up the dog toys, the playroom, the living room that's usually filled with coloring books and such, and then get dinner out and ready because hubs is always home on lunch around 4:30-5:00. It leaves me about 45 minutes of down time after all that's done... I sit here, blog, browse Pinterest for new tattoo ideas, DIY projects for the next day & food recipes that I will fail at making and resort to frozen nuggets and mac & cheese anyway. But at least it's ME time. 

Have a good day SAHM's.

XO, K.